‘The Stand 1×09 – The Circle Closes’ Review

After the actual stand takes place, there really isn’t much more to the story to be told. This is why it’s surprising that The Stand chose to have another episode to fill in it’s “happy ever after” faze of the story. The question is, did we really need it?

After the events in New Vegas Stu (James Marsden) and Frannie (Odessa Young) decide to take a road trip. With the worst of Captain Trips finally over and the apparent defeat of the Dark Man it still seems there are dangers waiting out there for them.

This last episode works as an epilogue to the story, and with no real expectations for it, it actually works quite well. The dream sequence that hints that there is more stories to come in the future is well done and shows the strength that Frannie actually holds. It’s a nice touch as she has been an important character to the story and seemed to take a backseat in the story when things got dangerous.

What I also liked about this episode of The Stand is that it felt new and fresh, because of course it is part of the new additions from Stephen King himself. It still manages to show that even in the aftermath of events, there are still forces at work protecting Stu and Fran and of course being a danger to them.

There is the question of course of if this episode was really needed. The answer that I would give to that is no, it’s not essential to the episode. The fallout of the events in Vegas could have been added to the end of last episode and that would have been a fitting end. Was it a nice episode to have? The answer to that is a resounding yes.

The Circle Closes manages to give Odessa Young and James Marsden a chance to shine and also gives us more of Alexander Skarsgard, which is also a good thing. His final scenes in this episode just sum up everything he has created in this character. It is also important to note that Kendall Joy Hall and her Abigail character is a nice mysterious addition who adds a little mystery to events. Until of course her intentions and who she is are revealed.

While The Stand itself hasn’t really been a success in my eyes, it was a good watchable show. I’ll say I preferred the original mini-series, which I think handled the characters better. Looking at this episode in itself though, I do like that The Circle Closes works as a good additional episode that isn’t essential, but ended up being a highlight of the show for me.

The Stand is available to watch in the UK on StarzPlay now.

Rating 4/5

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